The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• MPs Make Historic Visit to Arakanese Displaced by Conflict with Burma Army
• Bomb Blast Wounds German Tourists and Guide in Northern Burma’s Shan State
• Upper House Bill Committee Reviews Controversial Laws
• The Target Is Now Shwe Mann
• Ex-Monk U Gambira Gets Six Months in Prison on Immigration Charge
• Thousands of Sagaing Division’s Weather Victims in Need of Aid
• Three Armed Groups Opt Out of Talks With Former Govt Peace Delegation
• Rangoon Firms Seek Fixes to Familiar Woes in Chief Minister Meet-Up
• Activists Out in Force for Kachin Anti-Drugs Day
• Govt Ministers Prohibited From Appointing Relatives as Personal Assistants
• Japan Eyes More Foreign Workers, Stealthily Challenging Immigration Taboo
• Drones to Help Farmers in Philippines to Prepare for Disasters
• US Presses Vietnam on Detentions Ahead of Obama Visit

MPs Make Historic Visit to Arakanese Displaced by Conflict with Burma Army Posted: 26 Apr 2016 08:05 AM PDT RANGOON —Five lawmakers, representing the National League for Democracy (NLD) and the Arakan National Party (ANP), on Monday led an historic delegation to groups of Arakanese, an ethnic minority in western Burma, who were displaced by recent fighting. This marks the first time sitting parliamentarians have visited areas of internally displaced Arakanese. Fighting has been ongoing between Arakanese armed groups and government forces since Burma's independence from Britain, and, after government forces threatened their villages in the last two weeks, over 800 Arakanese were displaced, leaving many homeless or living in monasteries. The ANP and NLD lawmakers provided the displaced people with rice, oil, medicine and noodles. Some NGOs and other civil society organizations are supplying water and necessities like mosquito nets. "This is the first time the government has visited displaced Arakanese," Khin Saw Wai, ANP member of Burma's Parliament, told The Irrawaddy. "But there are still people who are displaced in other townships, and they also need help. The government needs to make sure that all displaced people receive the same amount of support." "[This area] is my home constituency," Khin Saw Wai said. "They elected me to parliament, so I have a responsibility to them." UN officials also traveled with the joint ANP-NLD group, and discussed plans for providing the internally displaced Arakanese with drinking water and other supplies. "With the rainy season approaching, things will get more difficult for the displaced Arakanese, and the future of the conflict between the Arakan Army and the Burma Army remains unclear," Khin Saw Wai said, adding that since April 16, the Burma Army had kidnapped dozens of people and forced them to serve as porters. "To handle displaced populations, all of the government agencies and civil society groups have to cooperate," Khin Saw Wai said. "We hope that the government will start paying more attention." Khin Saw Wai's NLD colleague agreed. "The government is responsible for helping citizens who are in difficult situations," Min Aung, an NLD member of the Arakan state parliament who is traveling with the group, told The Irrawaddy. The post MPs Make Historic Visit to Arakanese Displaced by Conflict with Burma Army appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Bomb Blast Wounds German Tourists and Guide in Northern Burma’s Shan State Posted: 26 Apr 2016 06:22 AM PDT Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) soldiers patrol in Kyaukme Township in February 2016. Many clashes with the Burma Army have reportedly occurred in the area in recent months. (Photo: Lawi Weng / The Irrawaddy) A bomb blast wounded two tourists and a Burmese guide near the northern town of Kyaukme in Shan State at around 2:00 pm today, according to a local police officer. Win Khaing, a police officer in Kyaukme Township, told The Irrawaddy that two men and one woman were wounded in the blast and as of press time were en route to a hospital, taken by a local community volunteer organization. The tourists are a man and woman from Germany, according to Win Khaing. The blast hit the tourists and their guide 20 miles north of Kyaukme, said Col. San Lwin, head of the Taunggyi Police Station. "We heard about the blast and the wounded, but we are still investigating how the tourists got into the area and what they were doing there," Col. San Lwin said, noting that the area is known for having armed rebels and is considered unsafe for traveling. The area has frequently been the site of conflicts between the Burma Army and the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), an ethnic armed group. The visitors had been staying in Hsipaw, a tourist town in Shan State 30 miles from Kyaukme, according to La Wun Aung, a local tour guide. Skirmishes have become frequent in recent weeks, as forces from the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army-South (RCSS/SSA-S), an ethnic armed group, and the Burma Army have been accused of launching strikes against the TNLA. Hundreds of ethnic Shan and Palaung (Ta'ang) locals have been displaced by the fighting. The post Bomb Blast Wounds German Tourists and Guide in Northern Burma's Shan State appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Upper House Bill Committee Reviews Controversial Laws Posted: 26 Apr 2016 05:40 AM PDT Lawmakers arrive at the Union Parliament complex in Naypyidaw on March 15, 2016. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters) RANGOON — Burma's Upper House Bill Committee on Tuesday began reviewing the Peaceful Assembly Law and the Emergency Provisions Act, both of which have been used in the past to arrest political activists, with the intention of eventually submitting the bills to Parliament for amendment or even abolishment once the legislature reconvenes. Aung Kyi Nyunt, who is on the committee, told The Irrawaddy that members will review 15 of the 142 laws recommended by the Legal Affairs and Special Cases Assessment Commission to be scrapped, amended or rewritten, while other parliamentary committees will review the remaining laws. "We are now starting to review the Peaceful Assembly Law and Emergency Provisions Act. After reviewing these laws, we will decide whether to amend or abolish them, and then later we will submit these recommendations to the Parliament," Aung Kyi Nyunt said, adding that the two bills would be prioritized throughout the review process. Parliament is scheduled to reconvene on May 2, following a lengthy parliamentary recess for the annual Thingyan water festival. Human rights activists have long called for these two laws to be abolished or at least amended since they were widely used under the military junta, and later former President Thein Sein's quasi-civilian government, to repress political activists. Peaceful protesters were often detained under Article 18 of the Peaceful Assembly Law, which requires organizers to seek government permission prior to protesting. If the committee submits amended bills to Parliament, and if Burma's new National League for Democracy (NLD)-controlled Parliament votes in favor of the committee recommendations, the changes would likely be hailed as another human rights achievement for the new government, which released more than 100 political prisoners, activists and students earlier this month. The post Upper House Bill Committee Reviews Controversial Laws appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

The Target Is Now Shwe Mann Posted: 26 Apr 2016 04:53 AM PDT Shwe Mann talks to reporters during a news conference after the last day of the Union Parliament session in Naypyidaw on January 29, 2016. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters) The political temperature is rising again. This time the target is Shwe Mann, a close ally of Aung San Suu Kyi and head of the Commission for the Assessment of Legal Affairs and Special Issues within the Union Parliament. On April 22, 17 key members including Shwe Mann were reportedly expelled from the military-backed Union Solidarity Development Party (USDP). The move may not have been lawful, Shwe Mann said. "I think people, including USDP members and relevant authorities, need to look over whether the action by some USDP top members towards me and the commission members is in accordance with the existing laws and rules," he explained. USDP officials insisted that Shwe Mann and the other members who were sacked—many of whom also serve on the Commission—had violated the party's charter. But Shwe Mann's faction will not go quietly: the showdown is now unfolding in the open. Shwe Mann once served as the third highest-ranking general in Burma's former military regime and as the joint chief of staff of the army, navy and air force. He had supporters within the armed forces, and several former regional commanders and generals are now thought to be in his camp. Recently, Shwe Mann—a graduate of the Defence Services Academy's 11th intake—commemorated the 47th anniversary of his graduation and met with his former colleagues, along with Suu Kyi. On this occasion, the former general issued a statement widely circulated on social media, urging his colleagues to work for the country's new elected government. Two days later, the army's information department responded by calling the statement an attempt to divide the armed forces. Shwe Mann, they suggested, was implying that the Tatmadaw—the state military—had not worked in the interest of the people or the country since Burma's independence. This reaction illustrates the depth of the fissure between him and the current leadership of the armed forces. Shwe Mann's expulsion from the USDP came after news of former president Thein Sein's return to the party, who served in the monkhood for only five days before re-entering politics as the USDP chairman. A photo of the ex-leader, head shaved, holding what appeared to be glasses of wine, was shared widely on social media last week. One of Shwe Mann's key allies, Zaw Myint Pe, was also reportedly among those who were dismissed from the party. He described the USDP as "dictatorial" and said that he believed the mass expulsion was, in fact, ordered by Thein Sein. The rivalry between Thein Sein and Shwe Mann became public in 2012 while Shwe Mann was serving as house speaker within Parliament. Increasingly, he was perceived by other USDP members as sympathetic to the struggle of Aung San Suu Kyi and as an advocate for constitutional reform—stances which contrast sharply with military interests. The conflict between the two men escalated as they formed powerful alliances: Thein Sein with armed forces commander-in-chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, and Shwe Mann with Suu Kyi. The soft-spoken military general remained popular despite attempts to remove him from leadership. But the internal rift within the USDP intensified in 2015: Shwe Mann faced impeachment from within the Parliament, government scrutiny of his family business and surveillance over two of his sons. In August 2015, about 400 police raided the USDP headquarters and removed Shwe Mann from party chairmanship. It appeared that the armed forces had ordered the raid—no doubt a palace coup. Before the incident, Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing was known to have sent a three-page letter to Shwe Mann expressing his dissatisfaction with the chairman's political positions. Political observers also noted that the commander-in-chief's speeches frequently mentioned "those who betrayed the country," a slur believed to have been directed at Shwe Mann. Under the former regime, such a removal—and subsequent purge—would have had a lasting impact on Shwe Mann's family and his allies, and likely would have resulted in a lengthy prison sentence for Shwe Mann himself. Yet within two weeks, he was back in action, suggesting that though the Parliament and existing institutions are fragile, they had protected Shwe Mann and his supporters from the wrath of the USDP and the armed forces. After learning of Shwe Mann’s dismissal, Suu Kyi said that the move had made it clear "who was the enemy and who was the ally," adding that her party—the National League for Democracy (NLD)—would work with the "ally." Thein Sein's faction within the USDP could not remove Shwe Mann as they had wished. Since the ousting nearly one year ago, Shwe Mann's association with and support for Suu Kyi has grown visibly. Until the recent dismissal, his official standing within the USDP had remained unknown. Shwe Mann's enemies are now regrouping in an attempt to target his political support base, but it appears that he is now in an even stronger position, allied not only with the leading NLD but also with its widely supported figurehead, Suu Kyi. Shwe Mann's key allies are now sitting in the Parliament and the Cabinet. It will be interesting to witness how, and with what strategies, he will fight back against the odds. The post The Target Is Now Shwe Mann appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Ex-Monk U Gambira Gets Six Months in Prison on Immigration Charge Posted: 26 Apr 2016 04:33 AM PDT The former monk U Gambira speaks to reporters outside the courthouse in Mandalay Division's Maha Aung Myay Township on Tuesday, when a judge ruled against him in a controversial immigration case. (Photo: Zaw Zaw / The Irrawaddy) MANDALAY — A court in Mandalay Division's Maha Aung Myay Township on Tuesday sentenced Nyi Nyi Lwin, a leader of Burma's 2007 Saffron Revolution who is better known as U Gambira, to six months in prison with labor on a controversial immigration charge. Speaking following the ruling of his pre-verdict high hopes for a withdrawal of the case—as scores of student activists benefitted from earlier this month—Gambira expressed disappointment at the trial's outcome on Tuesday. "The authorities might think my case is unrelated to any political issue. What I believe is the authorities fabricated the case to put me behind bars again," said the 36-year-old. Arrested on Jan. 19 for allegedly crossing the Thai-Burma border without an official visa, Gambira had for months petitioned unsuccessfully for bail, citing mental health issues that resulted from severe torture while imprisoned by the former military regime for his involvement in the 2007 pro-democracy uprising led by Buddhist clergy. With time served, the former monk will spend just under three more months behind bars, and on Tuesday said he did not intend to appeal the verdict. "I am very disappointed. But I am not going to submit an appeal as I don't believe in this judicial system, even after there were changes to a new government," he said. The jury of the court said during Tuesday's hearing that the six-month prison term was the minimal sentence allowable for those found guilty under Section 13.1 of the Immigration Act. That, however, did not assuage the concerns of the convicted man's family, who pointed to the regular medical treatment that his mental illness requires. "I don't want my son to be in prison six months, or even just a day. I believe Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and President U Htin Kyaw will not neglect him and many other remaining prisoners who were jailed with unjust laws," said Daw Yay, his mother. New York-based Human Rights Watch earlier on Tuesday called for authorities to dismiss the "politically motivated" charges. The London-based human rights group Amnesty International made a similar demand shortly after he was arrested in January. Following the verdict, David Mathieson, Human Rights Watch's senior Burma researcher, chalked up the contentious outcome to "some vengeful cabal in the security forces, [and] the corrupt legal process that facilitates them," adding that the burden would now fall to President Htin Kyaw to pardon Gambira "immediately." "Failing to do this as a priority will fatally undermine the government's commitment to end the cycle of political prisoners and politically motivated charges," he told The Irrawaddy. "On purely humanitarian grounds, let alone genuine rule of law, Gambira should have been released today." State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) government on April 7 said release of the country's scores of remaining political prisoners was a top priority, laying out a strategy to do so "as soon as possible." The student activists who had their charges withdrawn and scores of other prisoners of conscience have since been released. But in Mandalay's Obo Prison, Myo Win, a farmers' rights activists, and Yay Pu Sayadaw, an abbot from Mogok, remain detained and on trial, among the many still hoping for the NLD leadership's intervention. "We were told that the case we are facing is nothing related to political issues. But what I want to say here is the authorities and the government's lawyers are misusing the laws just to keep activists and journalists behind bars," said Myo Win, after a hearing in Mandalay's Patheingyi Township on Tuesday. Myo Win was arrested six months ago while assisting farmers turned victims of land confiscation in Patheingyi Township. He is facing trial for allegedly destroying public property. "If the authorities don't recognize those who are facing unjust trials and who are behind bars unlawfully, we have to question the judicial system under the new government, which is always talking about change," he added. Asked about the dozens of political prisoners still behind bars, Mathieson noted the progress seen in recent weeks, but urged swift resolution for the many cases still pending. "The new government has done the right thing in starting to pardon people facing charges and release political prisoners, but it's not over yet by a long shot. … The government's approach to activists undergoing trial this week will be an important litmus test of their sincerity," he said, noting Maung Saungkha as among those going through the court system this week. According to figures from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), there are 60 political prisoners—plus now Gambira—who remain behind bars at prisons across the country, while more than 200 farmers and assorted activists are still facing trials. Andrew D. Kaspar contributed reporting from Rangoon. The post Ex-Monk U Gambira Gets Six Months in Prison on Immigration Charge appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Thousands of Sagaing Division’s Weather Victims in Need of Aid Posted: 26 Apr 2016 03:03 AM PDT Villages hit by strong winds in Mandalay Division. (Photo: Myat Pyae Phyo / The Irrawaddy) MANDALAY — Most of the 11,000 locals affected by recent gale-force winds and hailstorms in Sagaing Division are in need of roofing materials, said Willie Frank, director of the divisional government's Relief and Resettlement Department. "All eight districts in Sagaing Division have suffered from strong winds. For the time being, we are providing compensation to the families of deceased victims and to homes that have experienced damage or have collapsed from the wind," Frank said. The department plans to provide 100,000 kyats (US$86) in compensation to each household that lost a family member and 50,000 kyats to each damaged or collapsed home. It also intends to provide corrugated iron sheets for roofing under an arrangement with the national government. "What we mainly need are corrugated iron sheets. The wind has destroyed my farm and I have no money to repair my house," said a villager in Wetlet Township, Shwebo District. Villages in Sagaing Division saw strong winds and hailstorms on April 22 and 23, which damaged houses and farms in the division. The extreme weather resulted in nine deaths in Sagaing Division alone and a total of 14 across Burma, as parts of Mandalay and Magwe divisions and Shan and Arakan states were also affected by the powerful weather pattern. "Township authorities have come to our village several times, but we have not yet received any help. We are now [repairing our houses] on our own," said farmer Maung Tu from Myinkya village in Khin-U Township. More than 150 households in Pinlebu, Wuntho, Indaw and Katha townships in Sagaing Division's Katha District were also struck by strong winds. As elsewhere, there have been delays in providing relief to these areas since parts of the Monywa-Katha motorway have been blocked by debris, according to the Katha District Relief and Resettlement Department. The post Thousands of Sagaing Division's Weather Victims in Need of Aid appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Three Armed Groups Opt Out of Talks With Former Govt Peace Delegation Posted: 26 Apr 2016 01:50 AM PDT Soldiers from the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) are pictured in Shan State in 2014 in an exercise commemorating the anniversary of the Palaung (Ta'ang) revolution. (Photo: Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy) Three ethnic armed organizations actively fighting the Burma Army have decided against meeting a former government peace delegation in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai next month, according to a leader from one of the groups. Tar Bong Kyaw, the general secretary of the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that his group, as well as two allies—the Arakan Army (AA) and the ethnic Kokang Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA)—would not meet with the representatives led by former Lt-Gen Khin Zaw Oo. The TNLA general explained that they were opting out of the talks because they would not be considered "official." "We didn't believe that they could help with anything for peace in this meeting," Tar Bong Kyaw said. The alliance of Arakanese, Kokang and Ta'ang armed groups "want to meet those who can really work for peace," he added, referring to representatives from the new Aung San Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy (NLD) government, which took office earlier this month. There is tension between the three ethnic armed groups and the military due to recent clashes in western Burma's Arakan State with the AA and in northern Shan State, where the TNLA and MNDAA operate. The groups released a joint statement on Tuesday confirming that fighting with the Burma Army is ongoing in their respective areas, where they allege that government forces are engaging in offensives and increasing troop numbers. On state-run TV, Burma Army members were quoted as saying that they hoped to "eliminate" groups like the AA. "[The Burma Army] employed strong military offensives in Rakhine [State]," Tar Bong Kyaw said of ongoing conflict between government forces and the Arakan Army. "They did the same to us. They should stop fighting if they want to have peace." In mid-April, Aung Min, the former chief peace broker for the Burmese government, reportedly contacted the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), a coalition of nine ethnic armed groups who did not sign the country's so-called nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) in 2015. It was said that Aung Min had reached out to UNFC vice chairman Nai Hong Sar about meeting the AA, MNDAA and TNLA for peace talks; the three groups had been excluded by the government from signing the NCA. Once a representative of the government-backed Myanmar Peace Center, Aung Min has since taken steps to form a new foundation intending to work for peace, but it is not clear what role the organization will undertake in Burma's future. The post Three Armed Groups Opt Out of Talks With Former Govt Peace Delegation appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Rangoon Firms Seek Fixes to Familiar Woes in Chief Minister Meet-Up Posted: 26 Apr 2016 01:43 AM PDT Rangoon Chief Minister Phyo Min Thein, center, addresses business leaders in the commercial capital on Monday. (Photo: UMFCCI / Facebook) RANGOON — Reliable supplies of running water and electricity, as well as thousands of squatters, are urgent issues to be prioritized, the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI), an organization of influential businesses in Rangoon, told the division's new chief minister at its meeting with him on Monday. The new Rangoon chief minister, Phyo Min Thein, has inherited a host of problems from his predecessor Myint Swe, who critics say failed to see to it that the sprawling commercial capital developed sustainably. The Hlaing Tharyar Industry Association was forthright about its grievances: The company paid 600 million kyats (US$5.1 million) to the Rangoon Electricity Supply Board, but it still experiences power outages; the government water utility does not supply the company's factories; and more than 8,000 residents it claims are squatters are living along the fences of their factories, disrupting the company's business operations and its workers' lives. More than five associations operating under the banner of the UMFCCI echoed the Hlaing Tharyar Industry Association's concerns, and several companies reported that they had forcibly removed squatters. One of the UMFCCI members, the chairman of the Shwepyitha Industry Association, admitted that his company had hired thugs to force squatters out. Phyo Min Thein said he was understanding of their concerns but that, "We don't want to be a bulldozer government," a not-so-veiled jab at the previous administration, which had in the past used bulldozers to clear squatters' settlements. Internally displaced people arrived in Rangoon in large numbers in 2008 following Cyclone Nargis's destruction of thousands of villages and farms in the Irrawaddy Delta, and many became squatters. The new minister promised no quick fixes, saying he would solve all the problems that could be handled at the Rangoon Division level, but pointing out that some of the issues required action at the Union level. As for the squatters, Phyo Min Thein said the government could create lists of the alleged trespassers and begin working with businesses to resolve the problem. Further, he pledged more urgent action on water and electricity supply issues, saying he would bring the appropriate regional ministers with him to the industrial zones on his next visit and work out solutions with them. Traffic congestion and logistics were also on the agenda. Ko Ko Naing, a representative for the logistics committee at the Bayinnaung Terminal, a trucking hub, said the terminal should be moved farther outside of the Rangoon city center because the area is too crowded and the roads cannot handle the increased shipping capacity. Severe traffic jams and other logistical problems have been the result. At the conclusion of the meeting, Phyo Min Thein said he was glad to have had an opportunity to hear the challenges local companies are facing, and he added that "no bribes" would be accepted in his government. Rangoon Division is Burma's largest, with more than 7 million people, a majority of whom live in the densely populated municipality of the same name. The post Rangoon Firms Seek Fixes to Familiar Woes in Chief Minister Meet-Up appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Activists Out in Force for Kachin Anti-Drugs Day Posted: 25 Apr 2016 11:49 PM PDT Locals stage a protest march in Shan State's Muse Township on Monday to mark Kachin National Anti-Narcotics Day. (Photo: Naw Di Aung) RANGOON — More than 3,000 people took part in protest marches in Lashio, Kutkai and Muse townships on Monday, marked as the Kachin Christian minority's National Anti-Narcotics Day, in an effort to raise government awareness of a growing drug problem in northern Shan State. Among the demonstrators were vicars and ministers of churches, anti-drug activist groups and local residents of the three townships. The demonstrators called on the government to view drug elimination as a "national duty" and speed up its antinarcotics efforts, including by providing proper security for participants of drug eradication campaigns like that of the vigilante group Pat Jasan. About 1,200 locals took part in the protest march in Muse, around 600 people amassed in Kutkai and some 1,500 protestors took to the streets of Lashio, according to local anti-narcotics groups. "There are various ethnicities as well as various ethnic armed groups in northern Shan State. I'm afraid that drug production and trade in Shan State has reached a global scale," Zaw Naung, chairman of Kachin Literature and Language Association in Lashio Township, told The Irrawaddy. "Drugs have [negatively] impacted Shan, Kachin and Palaung ethnicities." Non-state armed organizations are behind drug production and trade, claimed Zaw Naung, adding that while they benefited from the illicit activity, local communities were being ravaged by addiction. The Kachin community-based Anti-Drug Group in Muse told The Irrawaddy that, for its part, members hoped to take a grassroots approach to tackling the problem. "Our group conducts public awareness campaigns and over the past three years, poppy cultivation has decreased as a result. To achieve better results, the government alone will not be able to do it. People's participation is important," Naw Di Aung, a member of the group, told The Irrawaddy. Kachin National Anti-Narcotics Day has been celebrated annually since 2014, and Naw Di Aung claimed drug abuse among communities in Muse Township had fallen as a result. The day was also observed in Kachin State's capital Myitkyina, where about 3,000 locals participated on Monday. Burma is the world's second largest producer of opium poppies, after only Afghanistan, with most of that cultivation occurring in Shan State. The post Activists Out in Force for Kachin Anti-Drugs Day appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Govt Ministers Prohibited From Appointing Relatives as Personal Assistants Posted: 25 Apr 2016 11:36 PM PDT Aung San Suu Kyi (right) and President Htin Kyaw (left) enter Parliament in March 2016. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — The President's Office published a statement on Monday restricting union level government ministers from appointing close relatives as personal assistants. The guidelines for government officials also applicable to all regional governments and have been distributed to the relevant offices, the statement said. The document was signed by Aung San Suu Kyi, who is the minister of the President's Office, on April 1. "Members of the union government are restricted from appointing their wife, husband or close relatives as personal assistants in government offices and organizations," the guidelines read. According to the statement, close relatives include one's siblings, children, daughters-in-law, sons-in-law, nieces, nephews, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Only public servants can undertake the position in accordance with existing regulations. The post Govt Ministers Prohibited From Appointing Relatives as Personal Assistants appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Japan Eyes More Foreign Workers, Stealthily Challenging Immigration Taboo Posted: 25 Apr 2016 11:33 PM PDT Dang Nguyen Thuc Vien, second right, a 32-year-old daughter of refugees from Vietnam, helps a local Vietnamese resident in Japan as an interpreter at a hospital south of Tokyo in November 2015. (Photo: Reuters) TOKYO — Desperately seeking an antidote to a rapidly aging population, Japanese policymakers are exploring ways to bring in more foreign workers without calling it an "immigration policy." Immigration is a touchy subject in a land where conservatives prize cultural homogeneity and politicians fear losing votes from workers worried about losing jobs. But a tight labor market and ever-shrinking workforce are making Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's policy team and lawmakers consider the politically controversial option. Signaling the shift, a ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) panel is likely to propose this week expanding the types of jobs open to foreign workers, who are expected to top 1 million this year. "Domestically, there is a big allergy. As a politician, one must be aware of that," Takeshi Noda, an adviser to the LDP panel, told Reuters in an interview. Unlike the United States, where Donald Trump has made immigration an election issue, Japan has little history of immigration. But, that makes ethnic and cultural diversity seem more of a threat in Japan than it may seem elsewhere. And while Japan is not caught up in the mass migration crisis afflicting Europe, the controversies in other regions do color the way Japanese think about immigration. LDP lawmakers floated immigration proposals almost a decade ago, but those came to naught. But, since then, labor shortages have worsened and demographic forecasts have become more dire. By Any Other Name An economic uptick since Abe took office in December 2012, rebuilding after the 2011 tsunami and a construction boom ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics have pushed labor demand to its highest in 24 years. That has helped boost foreign worker numbers by 40 percent since 2013, with Chinese accounting for more than one-third followed by Vietnamese, Filipinos and Brazilians. But visa conditions largely barring unskilled workers mean foreigners still make up only about 1.4 percent of the workforce, compared with the 5 percent or more found—according to IMF estimates—in most advanced economies. So far, measures to attract more foreign workers have focused on easing entry for highly skilled professionals and expanding a "trainee" system that was designed to share technology with developing countries, but which critics say has become a backdoor source of cheap labor. Now, however, the LDP panel looks set to go further by proposing foreigners be accepted in other sectors that face shortages, such as nursing and farming, while leaving open the possibility such workers can later seek permanent residence. "We will tackle accepting foreigners as a labor force head-on," an LDP source close to the panel told Reuters. Acknowledging the sensitivities—especially ahead of an upper house election in July—the source said the panel will specify it is not recommending an "immigration policy," defining immigrants as people who enter Japan with no fixed limit on length of stay. "There is worry about the impact on public safety," Masahiko Shibayama, a panel member and special adviser to Abe, told Reuters. "There is concern domestic jobs will be eaten away. So I think there is still an allergy to the word 'immigration.'" Experts, however, say semantics cannot disguise the change underway. "The government insists it is not adopting an immigration policy, but whatever the word, faced with a shrinking population, it is changing its former stance and has begun to move toward a real immigration policy," said Hidenori Sakanaka, a former Tokyo Immigration Bureau chief. Two cabinet members have already advocated adopting an immigration policy, as have some LDP panel members. "The fundamental problem of the Japanese economy is that the potential growth rate is low," LDP panel adviser Seiichiro Murakami told Reuters. "To raise that, big structural reforms including … immigration policy are necessary." The influential Nikkei Business weekly has dubbed a foreign worker-driven growth strategy "imin-omics," a pun on the premier's "Abenomics" revival plan and "imin," the Japanese word for "immigrants." Abe, however, has made drawing more women and elderly into the work force while boosting the birth rate priorities, and publicly the government rules out any "immigration policy." Still, Abe's right-hand man, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, said debate on more foreign workers lay ahead. "We are seeking to mobilize the power of women and the elderly as much as possible, but at the same time we recognize that the acceptance of foreigners is a major issue," Suga told Reuters, adding caution was needed. He said the future debate would also consider the longer term issue of permanent residence for less skilled foreigners. Conservatives are likely to resist major change. For example, an ex-labor minister commenting at the LDP panel on a proposal to let in foreign beauticians said the idea was fine, as long as their customers were foreign, too. Hairdresser Mitsuo Igarashi has four barber chairs in his downtown Tokyo salon, but only himself to clip and shave. He wants to hire other barbers, and doesn't care where they come from. "We've got to let in more foreigners," said Igarashi. The post Japan Eyes More Foreign Workers, Stealthily Challenging Immigration Taboo appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Drones to Help Farmers in Philippines to Prepare for Disasters Posted: 25 Apr 2016 11:24 PM PDT Residents walk over the cracked soil of a 1.5-hectare dried up fishery at the Novaleta town in Cavite province, south of Manila, on May 26, 2015. (Photo: Reuters) LONDON — The Philippines has started to deploy drones to find out where farmland is most at risk from natural disasters and quickly assess damage after they strike, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Monday. Assessment of vulnerable farmland can minimize the negative impacts of climate change, floods and typhoons and avoid the need to build the agriculture sector back from scratch after a disaster, FAO said. The Philippines is one of the countries most at risk from natural disasters such as earthquakes, typhoons, droughts and floods, which have a heavy impact on farming and access to food. Under the pilot project funded by the Philippines government and FAO, two unmanned drones have already been sent to provinces affected by the El Niño weather pattern, the FAO said. The drones are capable of covering up to 600 hectares (1,500 acres) of land per day and can generate data and detailed maps from aerial photographs, including an indicator that can be used to analyze vegetation and plant health. Imagery generated from drone flights can also reveal where irrigation or storage facilities can be best sited to serve local farmers, FAO said. "It is efficient, it saves time and we will be using a reliable source of data so that we can plan and provide appropriate interventions and responses for our farmers in times of disasters," Christopher Morales, director of field operations for the Department of Agriculture, said in a statement. Typhoon Haiyan, which hit the Philippines in 2013, killed more than 6,000 people and destroyed 600,000 hectares of farmland, inflicting more than US$700 million damage to the agriculture sector, FAO said. The post Drones to Help Farmers in Philippines to Prepare for Disasters appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

US Presses Vietnam on Detentions Ahead of Obama Visit Posted: 25 Apr 2016 10:31 PM PDT A woman cries as she hugs a relative released from Hoang Tien prison, about 60 miles outside Hanoi, during a mass amnesty by the Vietnamese government in 2013. (Photo: Reuters) WASHINGTON — The United States pressed Vietnam Monday over a recent spate of detentions of government critics and pushed for other progress on human rights ahead of a visit next month by President Barack Obama. Senior officials of the two governments held an annual dialogue on human rights in Washington. It's an issue which remains a drag on improving relations between the former enemies. Tom Malinowski, US assistant secretary for democracy, human rights and labor, said last year saw a sharp decline in arrests and prosecutions for peaceful dissent in Vietnam. But he told The Associated Press there has been an increase in detentions of activists and bloggers this year, which was raised during Monday's "open and candid" discussions. He said the United States side "expressed our hope that this would be addressed and that some of the longstanding cases of concern would be resolved." Vietnam's delegation was led by Vu Anh Quang, director general of the Department of International Organizations at the Foreign Ministry. The Vietnamese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Obama will visit Vietnam in May, becoming the third consecutive US president to do so, four decades after the end of the Vietnam War. The United States and Vietnam have deepened ties in recent years as Washington looks to widen its circle of friends in Southeast Asia and finds common cause with Hanoi in countering a rising China. Vietnam is also a member of the US-backed regional trade pact, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which was signed in February. Vietnam recently adopted some laws to improve legal protections for citizens and has agreed to allow independent labor unions, currently forbidden, under a labor agreement that takes effect once TPP is ratified by both nations. But the ruling Communist Party still brooks no dissent. According to a recent State Department report, Vietnam held about 95 political prisoners at the end of 2015. Human Rights Watch says that during the last week of March, Vietnam convicted seven bloggers and rights activists and sentenced them to prison. Among the individual cases of detainees raised by the United States on Monday was Nguyen Van Dai, a prominent human rights lawyer who was arrested in December on charges of spreading anti-state propaganda. In 2007, Dai was sentenced to four years on a similar charge. Malinowski said the United States was also closely watching Vietnam's progress on legal reforms. Laws on demonstrations, non-government groups and religion that Vietnam's National Assembly is due to take up this year could have an important impact on respect for human rights, he said. The post US Presses Vietnam on Detentions Ahead of Obama Visit appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

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